Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Errors and Adjustments - Part 1 - "Does God Forget What He Forgives?"


I think every Christian who reads this little article has probably had this experience: You have believed something to be true regarding the Christian faith- perhaps without a question- only to find out later on that what you have accepted as true is actually false, or at least inaccurate.   Although this experience is oftentimes accompanied with a sense of disappointment, it does however open our eyes and position us to better perceive that which is true. Those believers which do not faint will indeed be strengthened by the process.

In this article, and in the ones like it to follow, I will set forth certain commonly held beliefs and ideas within the evangelical church, with the intention of showing these beliefs to be either false or inaccurate.  I will not in these articles address major heresies, but rather incorrect ideas, wrong beliefs, and “pet doctrines,” which although less dangerous than damnable heresies, are yet unsound and unhealthy to hold to.   

The first error I will address goes something like this:

“When God forgives sin, he also forgets it”…  “God has cast all of our sin into the sea of forgetfulness”… “If you pray about your sins that God has already forgiven, He will not know what you are talking about”… “God has the ability to erase from his mind the record of our sin, only the devil and we ourselves can remember it any longer”…  “When it comes to our sin, God has amnesia!”…etc…

Now perhaps you have never heard some of the above statements, but to be sure, I have heard all of these, and more like them, and usually they are accompanied with loud “amens” from the congregation.  I am certain that everyone within the evangelical church has heard some rendition of the above statements, and more than likely, a significant percentage of them which have heard believe these statements to be true. Indeed, the concept that God forgets our sins, in the sense that He no longer retains the knowledge of our sinful record, is commonly held among many evangelicals.

Now to be sure, many of you which read this page may hold to this very belief, and may find it surprising that anyone would not; however, if you will read on, you will see that this belief is both absurd and impossible, and thus requires adjustment.

I do hope that some of you upon reading my layout of the belief in question already see the error in it, for the statements which I quoted, when placed together, have a certain ring of absurdity to them.  But for those which do not see the folly in this belief, we will now proceed.

To believe that God is capable of forgetting any event, insomuch that He can no longer recall the information regarding that event is absurd.  Think of how ridiculous this position is to hold.  By believing in the “forgetfulness of God,” one essentially creates a universe in which he, the devils, and the angels of God are capable of remembering certain events (i.e. the believer’s sins), and yet God Almighty is incapable of recalling those same events!  In this universe, we find a God so smitten with love for his children, that He brings upon himself a voluntary state of amnesia with regard to their sins, so that each child of his can console himself in knowing that God is no longer all-knowing! 

But let’s take this “forgetfulness of God” a step further.  If God no longer has any remembrance of my sin, then it would be safe to conclude that He as well cannot remember that I ever was a sinner. For it would not be consistent to think that God would remember that I was a sinner, and yet have no recollection of those acts which made me to be a sinner.  If He cannot remember one sinful act of mine, upon what basis does He remember me to have been a sinner? Does the Lord say to me, “I know you to have been a sinner- how I know, I know not- for I have no record in my mind of any wrongdoing on your part!”

But the absurdity of this belief is surpassed by its impossibility.  Think for a moment: Is it possible for God to not remember, and thus no longer possess knowledge regarding any event?  If God is omniscient, how is it that He would no longer be aware of certain information?  Indeed, omniscience implies knowledge of all things past, present, and future; knowledge of every fact, truth, and thought in every possible area.  There can be no event, no thought, no imagination, nor information that can be beyond an omniscient mind. Thus, if there be even one minute shred of information that God is not privy to, if there be but one event that no longer registers within his mind, it cannot be said of him that He is “all-knowing.”

Now if God is no longer all-knowing- for supposedly he does not know what we are talking about when and if we speak to him regarding past sins- then in what sense is He yet omniscient? He is not. And if God is not omniscient, then He is no longer God: for omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence are the natural attributes of God.  Indeed, any being which would be deficient in one of these attributes would of necessity be classified as something other than Divine. 

But those which imagine that this error is truth cannot answer this question: Exactly how does God delete the knowledge of our past sins from his mind?  One might suggest that He does so by “casting our sins into the sea of forgetfulness.”  I have heard this many times, yet I have never met anyone who knows where this “sea” is located.  Is it near Narnia or Atlantis?  It certainly is not in the Scripture. Another may argue that “God can do anything He wants,” and therefore He chooses to no longer retain the knowledge of our sins.  But this is to say that God uses his omnipotence to compromise his omniscience!  It is to say that God chooses to make himself less than God!

But it is impossible for God to be anything other than God; consequently, it is impossible that He would not know everything.  Thus, every sin that has ever been committed- even the past sins of redeemed believers- would indeed yet register within the mind of God.

I will now move on to answer certain objections to my statements.

Objection:  But does not the Scripture state in Micah that God will cast our sins into the sea of forgetfulness?

Answer:  To this I say (1) that Micah 7:18 does not say anything about a “sea of forgetfulness,” but simply that God would cast all their sins into the depths of the sea, and (2) the language of Micah is certainly figurative.  The intent of the writer is not to set forth a literal statement as to where the cancelled sins of the people of God are ultimately disposed of, but rather, by use of metaphor, to convey the thoroughness of the redemption that they were to receive from God.  Their sins, which had brought such severe judgment upon them, would in the time of their redemption no longer be an issue- they would be “cast into the depths of the sea,” as it were, and would no longer be an obstacle in the relationship between God and his people.

Objection:  In Hebrews 8:12, the Scripture states: I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.  Does not this verse teach that God will no longer retain the knowledge of our sins, for it clearly states that He will remember them no more?

Answer:  To be sure, the Scripture states that in the New Covenant, God “will remember our sins no more.” But in treating the text fairly, one must ask the question: Does the term “remember” have but one meaning, namely, “to retain knowledge?”  If one will dogmatically assert that “remember” can only imply the retention of knowledge, he will then inevitably interpret this verse to mean that “God forgets that which He forgives,” that He no longer retains within his mind the knowledge or history of our past sins. 

But I have already shown that this is absurd and impossible, thus, this dogmatic approach in this case is both stubborn and unreasonable.  However, if one will consider the broader definition of the term “remember”- as it is used both in the scriptures and in our everyday language- he will not arrive at conclusions which undermine the omniscience of God. For certainly “remember” can mean “to mention,” “to mark,” “to consider,” “to think upon,” “to reward,” “to repay,” “to punish,” etc… thus, a proper treatment of this text must take this into account.

Now having established a broader meaning of the term “remember,” how then should we understand its meaning within the statement “I will remember no more?” Consider the usage of “remember” in the following text:

For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.  Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. Rev. 18:5,6

There is no doubt that the word “remember” in this verse referring to Babylon means “to repay or punish.”  We cannot take this verse to mean that at a certain point in time, God will retrieve to his mind certain information that previously He was not mindful of, but rather, that the time will come for him to execute judgment and to punish Babylon for all of her sins that He is ever mindful of.  Similarly, the verse from Hebrews 8:12, which is a quote from Jeremiah 31:34 conveys the same meaning of the word “remember,” but in this case that God will not remember- that God will no more punish the former sins of his people, insomuch as He will enact a New Covenant with them wherein those former sins, having been blotted out, will not be mentioned any longer.   

In conclusion, the error which I have exposed should be discarded. No good can come to one’s personal faith by holding to ideas which compromise the omniscience of God.  Do you wish to believe that God has forgotten your sins through Jesus Christ?  Do so, but make sure that you adjust your understanding of what “forget” can and cannot mean as it pertains to God.  Does God forget our sins in the sense that He does not hold over us a record of our sins? Yes. Does He freely forgive the penitent, and treat the justified as if they had not sinned, making no more mention of their former sins? Yes.  But does He have amnesia; can He literally no longer remember any of our former sins? No, for that my friend would be contrary to an omniscient mind, and hence, impossible.

So be content to rejoice in this: that although God knows all things concerning us, both past and present, both good and bad, He also is merciful and gracious toward us, “remembering,” or marking our sins no more.